Cheap way to transfer money from USA​To wire money from the USA overseas, I use an account on xe.com. There are two reasons to do so: The exchange rate is better than the one I get at my local bank. Today, I transferred two $500 amounts to my euro account. I did three transactions on the same day: one at my local Chase Bank, the second through Western Union, and the third through my xe.com account:

A: Chase transferred 442.95 Euros as its exchange rate was 1.1288 dollars per euro. It also charged me $45 for the wire transfer itself.

B: Western Union (WU) transferred only 433.35 euros as its exchange rate was 1.1538 dollars per euro. It is 2.92% more expensive. In addition, the minimum fee charge is $5 when I used a bank account for the money withdrawal. The fee made the WU transfer 3.99% more expensive than Chase Bank

C: Through my account, which is linked to my bank account, xe.com transferred 446.03 euros as its exchanged rate was 1.1210 dollars per euro. However, XE.COM did not charge any wire fee. wire transfer feed. In summary, the exchange at Chase Bank is 0.7% more expensive that xe.com.

If my case, when I take into account the Chase bank wire transfer fee of $45, the exchange rate is 10% more expensive at Chase Bank compared to xe.com

Both xe.com and WU offer cheaper exchange rates, with xe.com being the cheapest. With WU, you do not need a recipient's bank account information. Still, you need to watch out for WU fees and exchange rates for amounts that are greater than $500.00.

The last but most important is the transaction fees for any cash withdrawal across the globe. I used it recently in France and the United Kingdom. I got the best currency exchange rate for my dollars (lowest since banks do not charge each other exchange fees), and there were no transaction fees or any ATM fees.

When you open a Charles Schwab Checking account, they will also open a brokerage account along with it. However, you do not have to invest with them. Your brokerage account balance can just be zero.

Where are good bookstores in Algiers?​When it comes to bookstores in Algiers, there are a few, but it can be hard to find if you are just walking around. Here is a list of those I have visited: They carry some interesting authors and titles:

Librarie Igtihad, 9, Rue Areski Hamani (formely as Charas and not very far from Place Audin and La Grande Poste. MAP Telephone: 021-63-48-51 or 021-49-25-86

​What are the best websites for airline tickets to Europe and North Africa?​I use http://www.yapta.com, which can also alert if the airfare drops or increases. You may want to check http://www.farecast.com and http://www.kayak.com, which can also alert if the airfare drops or increases. Another site I like to visit when I am looking for discounted tickets is http://www.itasoftware.com. You don't need to be a member. You can just login as a guest. This site does not allow to buy the ticket. You will need to print the airfare information by looking at the details of the flight and then showing the booking details. You then call your travel agent and send him/her the information.Another website I just found is http://www.skyscanner.com

Where can I get a high yield interest checking account?A few local banks offer high-yield checking accounts that pay higher interest rates than traditional accounts. The list of these banks can be found at : http://www.depositaccounts.com/checking/reward-checking-accounts.htmlI suggest your also check the star rating of the book you are considering at http://www.bauerfinancial.com/btc_ratings.asp

Complete at least 10 or 12 free VISA Debit Card transactions per month (Excludes ATM transactions. All debit card transactions must be posted by the last day of the month to qualify). To meet this requirement, one can use the check card at a grocery store when buying an newspaper, a paper or a fruit and also get some cash back.

Make one Direct Deposit OR one ACH debit OR pay one bill using CCU's free Online Bill Payment each month

I-134 Affidavit of Support Let's take out the pain of filling out an I-134 Affidavit of Support for a new green card winner. Below are the two pages of a recent form that I filled out. To support, I scanned a bank letter (not a statement) that captured my bank assets. I also scanned my W-2 form and I e-mailed all the documents to the American consular section in Algiers. Of course, I needed to specify the person's case number.In Item 11, one can specify that room and board would be provided for a specified number of months after the person's arrival.E-mail address to send the documents: ConsularAlgiers @ state.govThe I134 document is available thought the US Department of Homeland Security at the US Citizenship and immigration services at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-134.pdf